


Magvel's Children

by bethany81707



Series: Bethany's Magvel [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Adoption, Breastfeeding, F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Intimacy Deficiency, Mad Magic, Nightmares, References to Depression, Rivalry, childhood crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 04:52:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15834120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethany81707/pseuds/bethany81707
Summary: Ephraim invites the children of his royal friends to the next seasonal meeting, believing the time ripe for them to meet one another. L'Arachel finds a spark amongst them that she desperately wanted. A rivalry is settled. And Innes finds out that Eirika needs a spark of a different sort, too, and makes sure that the people who can get that for her are aware.





	Magvel's Children

Ephraim stood nervously in front of the castle doors, awaiting Eirika’s arrival. Today was the first time the children of each rulers would attend, and Eirika had stated explicitly and on multiple occasions that Tarin, her eldest son, had taken much cajoling to come along. Ephraim didn’t want the poor boy to feel too out of his element out here, but wasn’t sure exactly how he would go about doing that. And, as ill timing would have it, Tana was in her third trimester again, and thus wasn’t up for all this waiting about.

“Grado’s crest has been sighted!” one of the men shouted. Ephraim looked up, seeing the small retinue of knights surrounding Eirika and her three children. Ephraim idly wondered why he expected anything less of Seth. He looked closely at the kids, trying to pick out the traits Eirika had described to him in her letters. Tarin’s pale purple hair colour stood out, reminding Ephraim instantly of the man who had sired him. Much like Lyon, Tarin’s head was downcast, not out of fear or sadness, but out of shyness. Eirika’s daughter- Molly, Ephraim recalled- rode much closer to him than any other pair in the formation. If Ephraim peered closely, he could notice her saying encouraging things, but he could not hear what those things might be from this distance. The third child- who Ephraim hurriedly realised he did  _ not _ recall the name of- rode following Seth, mimicking his father’s prepared riding style with the looseness of youth.

It was only a few minutes of waiting before his sister had arrived, and barely a minute before Ephraim found himself pinned to the ground by her. Ephraim sputtered out whatever greeting came to mind as he pulled himself to his feet and looked down at her children- his nephews and niece. It really  _ was _ a shame it took this long for him to meet them.

“Welcome to Nadaku, kids. How was the trip?” Ephraim asked, holding out his hand.

“Pleasant as Mum describes,” Molly said, stepping forward and shaking his hand. Ephraim felt much of the same inner toughness that he remembered feeling in his sister. Despite the large volume of red hair, Ephraim didn’t need much convincing to see Eirika Jr. before him. Molly nudged Tarin in the ribs, and he stepped forward.

“Yeah… it was… it was nice, yeah…” Tarin stammered out, stepping back rather than taking Ephraim’s hand.

“Don’t mind him, sir… Uncle Ephraim,” Molly said reassuringly, taking Tarin and pulling him into her for a hug. Ephraim noticed Seth’s subtle lip curl as Ephraim turned- and Ephraim didn’t really need to think hard to guess why. Molly really  _ was _ Eirika’s daughter.

“Sir Ephraim, it is an honour to meet you at last. My name is Prince Mido,” Eirika’s younger son called, perhaps louder than necessary, as he got on one knee and held one hand over his heart.

“...Mido, was it? You don’t need to stand on ceremony here,” Ephraim chuckled, holding out a hand so that Mido could pull himself up.

“Anyway, our kids are down the hall…  _ fourth _ door to the right, I believe. Eyra will probably hear you coming anyway and point out if I’m wrong,” Ephraim told them. Molly nodded, and took Tarin by the hand as she led him and Mido along.

“Are half siblings less sketchy than full ones?” Ephraim asked. Eirika and Seth didn’t need a clearer question.

“No,” Seth said immediately.

“I mean… I’m not saying I had a crush on you as a kid, but I think our relationship had more romantic overtones than theirs,” Eirika said.

“Innes has a daughter. I think her name was Demelza. Maybe she could help?” Ephraim asked.

* * *

“Where’s Aunt Tana?” Demelza asked as soon as the Frelians landed in the courtyard. Ephraim barely had time to process anything about her beyond her bow before she was in front of him and drawing up to what Ephraim immediately recognised as her ruler’s glare.

“Aunt Tana is resting. She’s pregnant right now,” Ephraim told her, which only seemed to get Innes right beside her and doing the same kind of glare as her daughter. Since he was closer to Ephraim’s height, it had more of an effect on him.

“I didn’t realise you didn’t know,” Ephraim muttered.

“I must be getting careless. Then again, you two breed like rabbits- I’m genuinely curious if I’ve ever seen Tana not pregnant since I left her with you,” Innes said with a scowl.

“She hasn’t been a baby factory. This will be our seventh child, and with our eldest at twelve, we could probably comfortably fit another seven babies in there,” Ephraim said.

“Will seven be enough for you?” Innes asked.

“OK, I think that’s enough…” Vanessa sighed, stepping forward to calm Innes and Demelza down. Ephraim looked for Innes’s other kid, and saw his light green haired head poking out from behind his pegasus.

“Come on, I’m not gonna bite,” Ephraim called.

“I know you won’t. I’m more worried about  _ them _ ,” the son told him, eyeing Innes and Demelza- and their bows. Ephraim nodded knowingly- Tana told him that all pegasus knights had a fear of bows ingrained into them when they began training, and he had witnessed Tana’s fear manifest often enough to believe it.

“What’s your name, son?” Ephraim asked.

“Rolf, sir,” he said.

“Well met, Rolf. You and Demelza can go meet mine and Eirika’s kids down the hall,  _ fifth _ door to the right,” Ephraim told him. He gave him a hearty pat, before the two began running down to meet their cousins and potential new friends.

“Demelza! Bow!” Vanessa called. Demelza turned back, puzzled, but with a snap of Vanessa’s fingers, Demelza reluctantly returned and dropped her bow into Vanessa’s hand. Demelza rushed off back towards the other kids before Vanessa could follow up on that.

“Hope she doesn’t take it too harshly. But I know at least one of your kids is a pegasus rider,” Vanessa pointed out.

“Yeah, Eyra’s a natural. Holly’s only three, but she’s had some affinity with Achaeus,” Ephraim remarked.

* * *

Waiting for the Jehannan royals was the hardest of the bunch for Ephraim. Joshua and Natasha were still treasured friends, but the lack of a strong inter-kingdom bond between them beyond Natasha hailing from Grado meant everyone subconsciously considered them separate. Nevertheless, Ephraim gave a wide smile as he welcomed the group in.

“Greetings, Ephraim. Hope I’m not being too much of a bother,” Tethys piped up. Ephraim looked down at the kids Jehanna brought. Shannon, Joshua’s daughter, stood cool and firm, one hand holding a tome while the other took Ephraim’s attention to her sabre. The other child, a boy, was rough and tumble, his larger broadsword held out as he looked around.

“So who’s this?” Ephraim asked.

“Gerik’s son, Louis. He  _ insisted _ on following me,” Shannon said, eyeing him somewhat contemptuously.

“I think it’s quite chivalrous, darling,” Tethys said, winking.

“I’m afraid I’m not of the same mind,” Shannon said simply, clearly trying to avoid a fuss. Ephraim pointed out the hallway for her and Louis to go down, and Tethys followed ‘to keep an eye on the kids’. Ephraim hoped that meant making sure Louis didn’t start anything with the other kids.

“How goes your lives, then?” Ephraim asked Joshua and Natasha.

“Between day-to-day ruling and raising our little Shannon, precious little. I’ve been making sure Natasha has had ample opportunity to consider the  _ other _ hungry mouths in the kingdom, at least,” Joshua remarked.

“Is the church thing going fine?” Ephraim asked.

“I consider the bureaucracy of religious matters to have little meaning. I believe the lifetime of serving those who have little to outweigh the act necessary to give birth to Shannon. If people believe the goddess would prefer the opposite, who am I to judge?” Natasha said.

“ _ You’re _ having trouble qualifying for sainthood? Tell ‘em Tana’s got all the character of a saint. Next to the whole mass murder thing and seven kids, what’s a single night?” Ephraim pointed out.

“Thanks, but it takes a  _ little _ more than what Tana has to qualify as a saint. A very good person for whom the history books will probably gloss over the nasty side, yes. But Tana hasn’t really  _ done _ much in the way of qualifying,” Natasha explained.

“...Yeah, I’ll never get what it is the people who got to be in charge of that are looking for,” Ephraim sighed, pointing Joshua and Natasha to the meeting room where Tana and the other couples already sat.

* * *

The last arrival was L’Arachel, of Rausten, who remained alone. Rennac had long since begun his quest for a suitor to the fiery woman, but as time passed, that fire had begun to fizzle out. L’Arachel mutely accepted a comforting hug from Ephraim, nothing particularly egotistical about it. Eirika, whose two intermittent visits between meetings had dropped to one years ago, had confided in Ephraim that L’Arachel was lonely beyond belief- and the only thing stopping Eirika from staying in Rausten was her husband and children.

They were paused in their walk to the meeting room by a thump in the room where the kids stayed. Ephraim peered into the room, looking around for the culprit. L’Arachel, curiosity creeping up on her, looked into the room as well. Tarin was reading in a corner, Molly keeping him company while Rolf and Shannon sat nearby. Louis and Dylan were showing some bravado stunt-fighting to Kyle and Holly, while Mido merely scoffed. But the true source of the loud thump seemed to have come from Eyra and Demelza, who were fighting for real.

“All right, you two, knock it off!” Ephraim called. Eyra stepped back quickly, while Demelza lunged forward to try to continue the fight. Kyle jumped up to intercept her, but it was the tougher Louis and Mido that finally managed it.

“Sorry, Father… she prattled on about how many siblings I have,” Eyra said.

“She did that on her way in, too. Demelza, it’s not your place to judge, both literally and metaphorically,” Ephraim said.

“So? What does Renais intend to do that requires so many kids?” Demelza asked. Eyra’s hand dropped to her hip, not finding her lance where she expected it.

“Ephraim?” Tethys asked. Ephraim turned to her, and realised she was supposed to be keeping an eye on the kids.

“And where were you?” Ephraim asked.

“Demelza told me one of your kids got out! I asked all the maids, and none of them said they saw them,” Tethys cried. Ephraim turned back into the room, and ran a headcount. Eyra, Dylan, Kyle and Holly were all here, and Chris was still having a nap.

“No, they’re all accounted for here,” Ephraim assured her.

“I  _ told _ her Eleanor was occupied elsewhere, but  _ no _ . I’m honestly surprised Demelza bothered to count how many of us there should be,” Eyra spat.

“All right, you two  _ clearly _ need to be separated. Eyra, you’d better go check on Chris. Demelza… come with me,” Ephraim ordered. Eyra nodded philosophically, while Demelza had to be dragged along to the meeting place.

* * *

Ephraim opened the door, pulling Demelza into the room with a scowl. L’Arachel moved nervously to Eirika, pulling up a small cushion to sit at her feet. Eirika herself, as well as all of the other rulers, sat on larger, pliable cushions rather than wooden ones arranged around a table- a decision made during Tana’s third pregnancy that everyone quickly agreed with.

“Why are you manhandling my daughter, Ephraim?” Innes asked.

“She’s been picking fights with my daughter about how many kids we have, escalating to a fistfight. Seth, could you tell her the story of the Kingdom of Carcino?” Ephraim asked.

“Kingdom of… oh, of course. Come on, Demelza,” Seth said, moving past Ephraim with Demelza in tow for a stern lecture. Ephraim took his seat, setting his head in his hands.

“Innes, we really need to discuss your opinion of our life choices. We  _ can’t _ abide by you imparting that same judgemental attitude onto your daughter, even if we can’t necessarily convince you to leave it be,” Ephraim growled.

“Ephraim… leave it for later,” Tana muttered. Ephraim turned to her, puzzled, only for the realisation to kick in.

“Right… L’Arachel, how did you find our kids?” Ephraim asked. L’Arachel jumped, her eyes widening quite a bit.

“Ah, well, I, um… they, well… they look nice, and, er…” L’Arachel stammered.

“Perhaps Demelza wasn’t the best example…” Innes chuckled.

“Well, no, but… Tarin’s little corner was rather sweet. But I don’t understand… you know I can’t have kids even if I wanted them…” L’Arachel spluttered out.

“Eleanor!” Ephraim called. A door opened, and one of Tana’s kids entered the room. This was the third-eldest, at nine- and it suddenly occurred to her that Eyra mentioned she was busy elsewhere. Eleanor looked around, giving a well-practiced curtsey, before her eyes lit up on L’Arachel. She walked towards her, nerves overtaking her practiced walk as she took a cushion and sat beside her, folding her legs under her rear.

“Aunt L’Arachel… I… I admire Rausten’s… well… I mean… I…” Eleanor began, uncertain of what she wanted to emphasise.

“...I know it’s a touchy subject…” Ephraim started.

“And I want you to know this was  _ her _ idea, and we’re not going to force it…” Tana added.

“But considering how long Rennac’s been, and, well… I’m Eirika’s brother…” Ephraim babbled.

“Would you like me to be your child?” Eleanor asked. L’Arachel’s eyes widened.

“I am not the eldest of my family. Eyra and Dylan precede me in line for the throne. The absence of just one of my many siblings will not upset Renais too much. But I know Rausten wants an heir, and I’ve heard L’Arachel… you… you need a friend that can stay in Rausten. I…” Eleanor told her. L’Arachel looked downwards, lacing her fingers together.

“I… I care about my kids, Lara. Saying goodbye to Eleanor… it won’t come easy. But I’ll only cry for a few weeks. We’re all worried about you, L’Arachel. We want you to have a spark of joy in your life, rather than the mild dullness that lies between meetings with Eirika- or worse. And if Eleanor can be that spark, I’d gladly bear the burden in your stead,” Tana said. L’Arachel looked up at Eleanor. Her hair was all done up, not quite in L’Arachel’s own style, but certainly evocative of it. It was probably intentional on the girl’s part… Eleanor  _ wanted _ this. L’Arachel looked up at Ephraim and Tana. Ephraim was looking rather hopeful, a few sidelong glances towards Eirika. The tears in Tana’s eyes were already forming… Tana was attached to her daughter. Even with another one on the way, this would hurt. But Tana wanted  _ her _ to be happy…

“I’ll… I’ll think about it…” L’Arachel cried. Eleanor got to her feet, and looked at L’Arachel for a few moments.

“...I understand. I’ll be waiting in the library,” Eleanor told her, before turning and leaving. L’Arachel turned to Tana.

“I don’t know if I can do that to you, Tana…” L’Arachel whispered.

“L’Arachel… in a way, Innes is right. I have other children. But unless something changes, Eleanor might be the only chance you get. You needn’t squander it on my account,” Tana told her, nervously wringing her hands. L’Arachel looked up at Eirika, who smiled at her.

“No one’s saying Tana’ll never see Eleanor again. She can always come visit Renais during these meetings or whenever. She’ll just be living with you in Rausten instead,” Eirika said.

“You mean we’re bringing kids to these regularly now?” Joshua asked.

“Why not? Only reason we didn’t was their youth and a desire to not exclude L’Arachel,” Eirika pointed out.

“With how Demelza behaved, I don’t think it should be mandatory…” Vanessa growled.

“...I accept. Should I go tell her now?” L’Arachel asked. Ephraim considered the others.

“Might as well,” Ephraim said, turning to Tana. Any tears she began to shed at the news were interrupted by a kick from the unborn. L’Arachel drifted away, trying to remember all the letters she had received about the hard work Tana had put into child-rearing… she had a child. A child that would probably be leagues easier than any of Tana’s had been or will be, a child who was prepared to care for  _ her _ … the idea was almost beginning to scare her.

* * *

L’Arachel entered the library- a modest few rows of bookshelves before her. Eleanor sat at a desk with a tome open in her hands, though it appeared her tome was a work of fiction, a tale of valour and defeating the odds. Eleanor looked up and smiled encouragingly. L’Arachel vaguely wondered how she, of all people, managed to get disarmed by a nine-year-old.

“I accept your offer,” L’Arachel told her. Eleanor calmly marked her place, closed the book, and carefully stood from her seat. When she felt she was clear of the desk, she suddenly darted forward, throwing her arms around her waist.

“Thank you, Aunt L’Arachel!” Eleanor exclaimed, to L’Arachel’s mild bemusement. Against her first impressions, it seemed Eleanor was indeed still a child.

“You’re a bookish girl?” L’Arachel asked.

“Taught by Lute. Rausten’s got a big library, right? I wanna be able to read it all!” Eleanor proclaimed. L’Arachel smiled.

“Well, I’m certainly not gonna stop you. Maybe we can read together?” L’Arachel asked.

“Sure thing, Aunt… er…” Eleanor started. L’Arachel gave her hair a tousle.

“Aunt L’Arachel is fine. I’m not your mother, and I don’t want you to think I’m stealing you from your mother. She’s gonna miss you, you know,” L’Arachel said.

“I know she will. She almost grounded me for suggesting this. But Ephraim said you needed a friend that could stay with you, and I figured, since I don’t really fit in with my siblings…” Eleanor said, shifting her weight between her feet.

“...All great things require sacrifices. That’s what your father learned during the war. And his best friend was… oh no... “ L’Arachel said, a fanciful idea crossing her mind.

“What about my father?” Eleanor asked.

“Did he think I was going to turn out like Lyon?” L’Arachel called, almost insulted by the thought.

“Lyon? Nah, I didn’t think you’d turn evil. I was worried you’d… well…” Eleanor told her. L’Arachel caught her meaning.

“Not while there was a chance I’d get to see Eirika again,” L’Arachel assured her.

* * *

Innes led the group into the room with the kids, where Seth returned a newly cautious Demelza- and Eyra had returned from tending to Chris.

“So, Rolf, how have you found Dylan?” Innes asked.

“Innes…” Eirika muttered under her breath.

“Hm? Dylan?” Rolf asked, looking around. Dylan chuckled.

“Rolf’s been taken with Molly, Uncle Innes. Besides, I don’t want a rivalry with a boy like him- he doesn’t look the type to enjoy it,” Dylan said. Most of the observers found the idea of Ephraim’s son calling Innes ‘Uncle’ peculiar. Innes, on the other hand, was merely irked by the insult Dylan suggested.

“My son is  _ not _ a coward!” Innes roared.

“No one questioned that. He’s not a fighter, Father. Besides, surely you’ve figured out a wiser idea to continue this little charade with Uncle Ephraim?” Demelza asked. Eirika and Joshua stopped holding back their laughs. Even Demelza, as Innes as Innes comes, acknowledged her familial relationship with Innes’s rival.

“Me and you sparring, Demelza? Hm, I’m not really keen on doing it regularly, but sure, I can do it this once,” Eyra said.

“That will do. Come on, Ephraim! Father and daughter, working as one. We can’t lose!” Innes called.

“You are  _ way _ too focused on this,” Ephraim sighed.

“You’re going down, sky knight,” Demelza said, eyes narrowing.

“Two squishy little archers? Daddy, this could still be fun yet,” Eyra said. The four set off towards the courtyard to prepare, and all of Eyra’s siblings followed behind. Eirika looked over at Rolf, whom Vanessa was giving a quiet conversation.

“Molly, dear, would you like to say hello to Rolf?” Eirika asked. Molly looked up from Tarin’s side, and smiled.

“Hey there, Rolf,” Molly said, heading over to him. Rolf felt himself beginning to sweat, as Molly held out her hand. Rolf wiped his hand on his shirt, before holding it out and giving hers’ a shake. He was surprised to feel it a little damp in turn.

“Would you, um…” Rolf started, looking to Vanessa for help.

“We can go watch your sister? Hey, Tarin, would you-” Molly started, turning to her brother- only to find Shannon had taken Molly’s seat, asking Tarin about the book he was reading.

“Molly, I… I mean, you, uh…” Rolf stammered.

“...Rolf’s mum? You want to watch, too?” Molly’s only-slightly-less-nervous response came out to be.

“Not particularly, but I can come with, if it’ll make you two feel better,” Vanessa assured them.

* * *

Joshua took his position as unbiased judge of the contest, looking between either side with interest. Both MacDethyls had gone with their bows, while the Sivardsons had chosen their usual lances- and in Eyra’s case, her usual pegasus. Demelza could only stare in bewilderment as Eyra practiced a few knee signals with Miya.

“You sure about this, Eyra?” Demelza asked.

“You’re not using  _ real _ arrows, right?” Eyra asked.

“Kid, anything that gets loaded on these is going to hurt regardless of what’s loaded in them. There’s only so much pointy bit you can take off,” Demelza stated. Eyra turned to Ephraim.

“Honestly, I don’t think Innes would have minded if I got killed during one of our battles way back. Well… maybe a little, and I’m certain other people would have gotten angry, but Innes has that single-minded dedication to his tasks expected of an archer… and hoped is  _ not _ in a prince,” Ephraim said, cementing Eyra’s concerns.

“Launch!” Joshua called without warning. Miya could run towards the archers and take off before either realised the call had sounded and put an arrow to their bows.

“Are we  _ sure _ you’re unbiased?” Innes asked, only to notice Joshua was telling Shannon something and not paying attention to the field.

“I’m gonna go with no,” Demelza sighed, and readied her bow. She fired an flurry of arrows, watching in awe as her cousin dodged each and every bolt.

“You’re good, Eyra… but not good enough,” Demelza observed. She brought her bow around to face Ephraim instead, intending that the deft control over her pegasus wasn’t the only thing she inherited from her mother. She fired two carefully aimed shots, to hit two places that Ephraim couldn’t conveniently block at once.A javelin embedded itself into the ground, blocking one while the other slipped harmlessly by, Ephraim having moved closer to Innes to prepare his own spear throw.

“How…” Demelza asked, looking back up at the pegasus. More javelins came raining down, embedding themselves at peculiar angles. Demelza suspected Eyra wasn’t of a mind to try aiming at her, but her position was quickly becoming uncomfortable to stand in simply because of all the shafts in her way. She tumbled to one side, quickly drawing herself erect and firing a shot as soon as she was able. Eyra dodged the bolt, and her next javelin embedded itself, quivering, right between her legs. Demelza’s eyes widened, staring at the shaft in wonder as she noticed it had also cut through her bow, though it had not  _ quite  _ snapped the string.

“I surrender!” Demelza called, holding one hand up while the other disentangled the bow from the javelin, not dropping her weapon until she was sure it wouldn’t be damaged. She turned to her father, who had cast aside his own bow and fought Ephraim with a short sword. Arrows sticking out of Ephraim aside, Innes was clearly outmatched.

“Dammit, Father, I’m not watching you embarrass yourself,” Demelza muttered, drawing up her bow and shooting it, very precisely, in between the two combatants. As expected, Innes jumped back, and a second arrow stopped Ephraim from capitalising on that moment.

“Father, I resign. And before Ephraim kills you, you should too,” Demelza stated clearly, making sure Innes caught it.

“...I’m no old codger yet, Demelza. I have this,” Innes eventually said.

“Neither is he, father. And if you intend on keeping me in this, you keep Eyra in there, too…” Demelza started, and Eyra punctuated her point with three precise javelins that Innes had to move to avoid.

“Dem…” Innes said.

“This feud  _ will _ stop. I’m not going to fight Eyra again. Frankly, I have no idea why I ever did in the first place. She’s my cousin, Father. Everyone, here… they were, to be blunt, nicer than I deserved,” Demelza said.

“You’re just scared of Eyra. You wouldn’t be saying this if you could best her,” Innes snapped.

“...Fine, be a child,” Demelza said, turning to go tease Rolf. Innes turned to Ephraim, looking at his sword. It was blunted, of course, but even a sharp blade of this shape would be no help to him.

“Why did you hate me?” Ephraim asked.

“Because you turned my baby sister into a baby factory,” Innes snapped.

“Before that,” Ephraim said. Innes’s thoughts were cast back. Why  _ did _ he hate Ephraim? His earliest memory concerning him was challenging him…

“...I don’t recall…” Innes started. Ephraim embedded his lance into the ground, and held out his hand.

“Innes, I’m not asking you to be my friend. I’m just asking you to set a better example for your daughter,” Ephraim asked. Innes turned to her. She was sharing a hug with Vanessa, tears in her eyes. Eyra had landed and was already getting to work cleaning up the javelins.

“...You’re right. Seth drilled in to her that she shouldn’t needlessly aggravate you. I guess I should do the same,” Innes said, taking Ephraim’s hand and shaking.

“Does this mean you’ll teach Demelza that our family isn’t wrong?” Eyra asked. Innes turned to her, and almost struggled to put the words he wanted in his mouth.

“I still don’t approve. But I think Demelza will be the better woman and learn that on her own,” Innes said.

* * *

“So where did Eyra learn all that?” Vanessa asked. Tana looked at her and blinked.

“...Right. Sorry, Innes confused me,” Vanessa assured her.

“She picked up flying pretty quick, and since we didn’t have to keep teaching the same few lessons over and over again to a new set of kids, we could go out flying on our own. It’s been surprisingly helpful, and ever since she got old and strong enough to start throwing javelins, the three of us have been working on more interesting moves,” Tana told her.

“Three of you?” Vanessa asked.

“Sarah. The pegasus knight who joined the army because of the Whitewing that I recruited?” Tana said, watching Vanessa for the moment she remembered.

“Er… I hope you don’t expect me to remember all of the pegasus trainees. That’s Syrene’s job. I remember all the graduates,” Vanessa told her.

“Meanie,” Tana mumbled.

“Do you know everyone in  _ your _ army?” Vanessa asked.

“...Point… At least I know all the pegasi!” Tana said, fully aware of how minute an achievement that was.

“Yeah, yeah. So, Sarah flies with you. I take it she can demonstrate some of these anti-archer moves you’ve been working on?” Vanessa asked. Tana chuckled.

“I guess you can. I mean, am  _ I _ really that much better of a teacher?” Tana asked. Vanessa shrugged.

“Probably not. I just don’t expect you to be overwhelmed by the pressure of teaching your former queen,” Vanessa pointed out.

“Oh. Yeah. Eyra, you want to go with Sarah and Vanessa?” Tana called.

“Sure thing, Mum!” Eyra called back.

“So when are you getting back in the air?” Vanessa asked.

“I always have to wait until my kid’s old enough to start using bottles. Didn’t even get a break between Chris and this one,” Tana lamented.

“Can’t you just skip the breastfeeding entirely?” Innes asked.

“Can’t you just mind your own business? I’ve told you repeatedly that you’re the only one that minds,” Tana snapped.

“I don’t like seeing my little sister’s breasts, all right? And I don’t like you showing them to Seth and Joshua,” Innes said.

“More serving boys than that have managed to sneak a peek until I imposed a rule that only girls can tend to me while I’m nursing. And I trust those two- mostly because Joshua doesn’t seem to have any sense of sexual attraction anymore and Seth is loyal to a fault. I’m more worried about L’Arachel’s wandering eyes,” Tana said. Innes nodded, conceding her point.

“Besides, Tana is actually using her breasts for their intended purpose. Not her fault babies don’t keep schedules,” Vanessa chipped in.

* * *

Innes left the conversation be, and began to ponder what he would do now that his rivalry with Ephraim no longer consumed so much of his time. While he recognised the fact that it had was probably a sign that he should’ve done something sooner, he didn’t recognise any value over dwelling on it. What caught his eye, on the other hand, was Eirika on her lonesome, wandering the castle halls. It was her childhood home, Innes knew she was safe… but he did recall one thing.

“Have your nightmares been treating you well?” Innes asked. Eirika jumped, her hands jumping to her chest as she turned. She stumbled slightly, and Innes took her arm gently to right her.

“Sorry about the startle,” Innes mumbled.

“No, it’s fine… and, um…” Eirika stammered.

“Still a thing, hm?” Innes asked, gently starting to stroke her arm.

“Lyon… he meant a lot to me… and, well… not all of them were nightmares,” Eirika told him. Innes chuckled.

“Eirika, your heart really is too big. I don’t mean that as an insult… but you’ve charmed the hearts of so many, and yet…” Innes began, rapidly trying to figure out not only how to tactfully express his thoughts, but what his thoughts even  _ were _ .

“I know… Seth loves me, L’Arachel loves me,  _ you _ love me… Ephraim, Tana, Tarin, Molly, Mido… but it’s… I  _ know _ I could’ve changed him, if only…” Eirika muttered, allowing herself to draw in close. Innes allowed her, sitting down against a column, hoping that if Seth had a problem, he was nearby to allow the girl to change laps.

“It’s magic, Eirika. He must’ve charmed you to get you to join him. It’s a  _ damn _ persistent spell if it’s still affecting you…” Innes suggested.

“L’Arachel knows it’s magic. She’s offered to have the Rausten mages figure out how to purify me. But I don’t want them to remove Lyon entirely… I treasure all of my time with him, even the time where Lyon wasn’t himself… I’m crazy, aren’t I?” Eirika sobbed.

“Eirika… are you getting enough sleep?” Innes asked. Eirika favoured makeup more heavily nowadays, and Innes was beginning to suspect it wasn’t just because she was a regular in L’Arachel’s castle.

“...Every now and then,” Eirika said.

“Does Seth know?” Innes asked, in spite of himself.

“...I don’t know. I try to go back to sleep, I’m up before him as a matter of course…” Eirika muttered.

“What about L’Arachel?” Innes followed up.

“She wakes up and starts hugging me,” Eirika said.

“Does it help?” Innes asked.

“...A little… I mean… not much. It’s…” Eirika stammered, before Innes brought an arm around to stroke her face.

“Eirika. You’ve got to let go. You can’t keep going like this. One way or another, you need to start getting full nights of rest,” Innes told her.

“I know, Innes… but...” Eirika said. As she did, a horrifying thought occurred to Innes.

“...You never moved on, did you?” Innes asked. Eirika seized up, but Innes didn’t back down. His hard-nosed approach had its flaws, but this was his element- the problem  _ needed _ to be fixed, and the time for softly considering it was past.

“Don’t tell Seth, please…” Eirika cried.

“Lyon’s gone, Eirika. Holding on to your crush isn’t going to bring him back,” Innes stated.

“I know he’s gone… I know I have Seth… but… Seth doesn’t make me happy…” Eirika cried.

“...Pardon?” Innes asked. Admittedly, yes, Eirika regularly left Grado to rendezvous with a past lover, but everyone knew it was entirely for the other girl’s benefit. Eirika even cut down, ‘in service to Grado’...

“Seth still treats me like his lady. He… he still thinks I’m… well… he still thinks I’m his superior… his jewel…” Eirika said. Innes wasn’t quite sure where the problem was.

“You mean…” Innes prodded.

“He still hesitates to hold me, to kiss me… to…” Eirika elaborated. Innes instantly realised the entire problem.

“What about L’Arachel?” Innes asked immediately.

“She’s restrained out of a sense of respect for Seth. Hug when I arrive, hug when I leave, hug when I’m having nightmares, that’s it. I can tell she wants more, too…” Eirika sobbed.

“I’m no therapist… but something’s telling me your sleep problems might be calmed if one of your partners were more intimate. Help to fill in the void that Lyon’s taking, and all that,” Innes told her, before getting to his feet, pulling up Eirika alongside him.

“I’ll need to go freshen up. Don’t want to worry everyone even more, and all that. So, if I may ask, who are you going to confront?” Eirika asked.

“Probably Seth,” Innes said, feeling his nerves pinch him. After his needless aggression with Renais, it was probably unwise to try and antagonise Grado, but it needed to be done. He only hoped Rolf and Molly could hold their relationship together against whatever backlash had to happen.

* * *

Tracking down Seth was not as simple as ‘he’s probably nearby’. However, he found Seth meeting with Franz and Ephraim easy enough. Franz seemed all excited to get to speak with Seth, but Innes suspected he still had a bit of sadness from losing his brother. However, Innes was impressed he moved past that- a stellar young lad.

“Seth? Can I talk to you in a moment about Eirika?” Innes asked. Franz bowed, thanked Seth for his time, and walked off. Ephraim chose to linger- Innes knew he was going to worry about his sister. Innes vaguely wondered if he ever could have that relationship with Tana.

“Seth… Eirika’s not satisfied with your arrangement. She wants more from her husband than you’ve been offering her. That’s why she still has her ‘nightmares’,” Innes said, blunt and to the point. No point dancing around it if Seth wanted to better himself.

“She has nightmares?” Seth asked.

“Flashbacks to her encounters with Lyon in the war. The bad memories… and the good ones, too,” Innes said. Though Tarin wasn’t in the room, Seth caught the message well enough.

“...What do I need to do?” Seth asked.

“Just be her husband, Seth. You’ve gotta give her that intimacy she’s craving. Or at the very least, assure L’Arachel she can do it for you,” Innes said. Seth nodded, though he looked pretty pale in the face.

“...Are you OK?” Ephraim asked.

“She’s just… I don’t…” Seth started.

“Give it a try tonight. I’ll try and figure out a backup plan for her,” Innes told him, turning to leave. Seth turned to Ephraim.

“Hey, don’t look at me. The older big brother thing is about making sure Eirika’s not  _ hurt _ \- and, if Innes is to believed, you’re hurting her by not giving her what she needs. I’d give it to her myself if not for the rumours that would fly,” Ephraim told him.

“Incest,” Seth said, the burden Ephraim had unintentionally placed on him joining the rest of them.

“No, adultery. The incest ones have long since set sail,” Ephraim said. Seth blinked.

“I never said they were  _ true _ rumours,” Ephraim added uncomfortably.

* * *

Seth was searching the hallways for Eirika, hoping to confront the girl- his  _ wife _ , he reminded himself, even though all it meant was that there was more pressure on him to succeed. Eirika wanted something he wasn’t providing… and that meant he’d have to pluck up the courage to change that fact.

“So yeah, Innes said Eirika’s nightmares are because of that,” a young-ish voice said. He looked around in confusion, before identifying the door from behind which the speaker was.

“Oh my… my poor dear…” L’Arachel’s distinctive tones replied. The first speaker, therefore, was probably Eleanor.

“Yeah, I’m not the  _ greatest _ at magic yet, mostly because I’m still on the younger side, but I can tell there’s still remnants of an enchantment on her. That part adds up,” Eleanor told her.

“I know that much. Rausten’s mages said the same. But Eirika refused our offer to make her forget,” L’Arachel said.

“Have you actually inspected the enchantment?” Eleanor asked. No verbal response, at least.

“Gotcha. If I have my history right, Lyon cast it on her with the full power of the Demon King anyway, so that explains the longevity. Next time Eirika visits, we need to have her inspected,” Eleanor said.

“But what about  _ now _ ?” L’Arachel asked.

“I think Innes said something about asking Seth to treat her more intimately, so Eirika doesn’t  _ want _ to remember? A reasonable suggestion, but Eirika’s not that kind of girl. She’s not going to abandon her memories of Lyon  _ regardless _ of how well you and Seth treat her. What Eirika needs is some way to relive her moments with Lyon  _ outside _ of her nightmares… hm, give me a moment,” Eleanor said. Seth found himself conflicted. If Eleanor was right, he didn’t  _ need _ to change anything… but something about those conversations inspired that need to do so. The thumps of cascading tomes mimicked his own racing heart, as Eleanor started apparently flipping around a tome.

“Memory Prisms. The ability to view a memory in a moment. What if you could somehow create Prisms that hold falsified Memories? If you could, could you perhaps participate in that Memory? If we could, we could make a version of Eirika’s ‘nightmares’ she could whip out at will!” Eleanor proclaimed.

“Well… I mean, the theory sounds… er…” L’Arachel started.

“I’ll need the experts’ help on this anyway. But I want to help Aunt Eirika, Aunt L’Arachel,” Eleanor said.

“I’ll wait to hear what those mages say before I get anyones’ hopes up more than they already are. Seth, get in here,” L’Arachel said. Seth jumped, as the door opened to reveal L’Arachel’s annoyed glare and Eleanor’s dropped jaw.

“...My apologies,” Seth finally managed to spit out.

“Uncle Seth…” Eleanor started, looking down in embarrassment.

“L’Arachel, I wanted to tell you regardless… I give you permission to give Eirika all the intimacy she needs. I’m going to try and do it myself, but I’m having trouble plucking up the courage. Besides, as much as it probably hurts for you to hear this, I know Eirika isn’t going to dump me for you regardless of how much better she feels with you. Might as well make her feel as good as possible overall rather than have you slow down to make  _ me _ feel better,” Seth said. L’Arachel nodded.

“It’s like Ellie said. She  _ never _ turns her back on a friend. If I wasn’t so depressed, I don’t think she’d feel the need to justify coming for the extra visits at all,” L’Arachel said.

“I was planning on telling Eirika she should go back to the monthly timing. Grado’s clearing up and  _ she _ needs the visits as much as you do. And Eleanor, I’m going to let you take Eirika to Rausten for a few days for your mad magical experiments. Might as well see if you can get that Memory Prism thing working sooner as opposed to later,” Seth said, turning to his niece.

“Mad magic, hm? Don’t worry, Aunt Eirika  _ should _ be returned in one piece. And if she doesn’t, I blame the Demon King in advance,” Eleanor told him. That was probably  _ more _ reassuring than Eleanor intended it.


End file.
